It’s an Android 2.0 powered phone with a 800×480 display, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, removable memory and a 5 megapixel camera with flash all in a form factor slightly bigger than an iPhone. Yum!

It should be coming to TELUS (and possibly other compatible carriers) in early 2010.

I played with one the other day and couldn’t stop drooling

It’s kind of hard to tell but the screen looks amazing, stunning, incredible. Not only is it high resolution but the colour just blows me away. It’s easily the best thing about the Omnia 2.

Other random thoughts. While it has a 800Mhz processor Opera still feels kind of slow. The hexagonal button in front isn’t a navigation pad – instead it’s a single button that looks like a nav pad. It’s a waste of space.

TouchWiz 2.0 is nice but having the Windows Mobile menus and TouchWiz makes for a inconsistant user experience.

The camera is very similar to the camera on the Samsung i910. It’s very good except when you’re trying to take close ups where the flash is needed. In those situations it blasts the subject out – that said you can raise the ISO to 800 so you don’t need to use the flash as much.

In the past, whenever I tested a Bell CDMA phone there was always very low signal levels in my house. The Omnia 2 runs on Bell’s new HSPA+ network and it too gets very little signal – FYI.

Anyways that’s all for now. I’ll have a full review up later after I’ve had a chance to play with it more and drool at the screen some more.

Wanting to get as many new (almost in stock) devices launched before Telus and Bell turn on their new HSPA network, Rogers Wireless has launched the LG Eve.  The LG Eve is currently listed on the Rogers website as “out of stock” but will retail for $49.99 on a 3 year term, $299.99 on a 2 year term, $349.99 on a 1 year term, and $399.99 without an agreement.

The Eves slick S-class interface lets you navigate your social networks, contacts, multimedia and Android Market apps seamlessly. Link your Facebook™ and Twitter™ accounts with your contact list so you can manage your social networks quickly and easily. The integrated 5.0 MP camera combines with a gorgeous media gallery and video editor to provide an unprecedented multimedia experience from your smartphone. Once youve discovered all the great features that come with the Eve, explore the Android Market for new and exciting apps to customize your LG Eve.

Head to you local Rogers dealer to purchase the LG Eve.

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The BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers sophisticated design coupled with high-performance features to offer users a premium smartphone experience. This 3G smartphone ensures you will receive your emails quickly and reliably. The new optical trackpad ensures easy navigation and the multimedia capabilities mean you can have fun and stay connected to the office. The Bold 9700 allows users to live their personal and professional lives to the fullest through power and performance.

Despite what the marketing team at Rogers tells us, the 9700 is commonly referred to as the “Bold” or “Bold 2″ and not the “Curve”.  With that cleared up, lets look at the key features of the device. 

The Sony Ericsson T715a was officially launched today on Rogers’ discount brand, Fido Telephony.  The T715a features a 3.2MP camera, MP3 player, Facebook app, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot.

As you can see from the image above, the Sony Ericsson slider is only $50 on a 2 year term and $200 when purchased outright.

Head over to the Fido website to purchase your T715a today!

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Enjoy a unique HTML browsing experience with the LG Versa™ and browse up to 3 web pages at one time. The LG Versa™ also features 3 home screens to personalize with contacts, widgets and multimedia for instant access.

The Versa is priced at $79.99/$179.99/$229.99/$279.99 (3 year term to no contract) and features:

• 3″ high-resolution touchscreen with 3 customizable home screens
• Easily navigate with the intuitive 3D S-Class UI from LG
• HTML browser for access to social networking sites
• 2.0 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video capture
• Bluetooth® technology for stereo and hands-free accessories

Head over to Telus to learn more or to purchase.

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WIND Mobile will be delayed in becoming Canada’s newest competitive wireless operator in over a decade, Globalive Wireless Management Corp. announced today on the heels of a regulatory decision from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

In its decision, the CRTC came to a different conclusion than Industry Canada and has indicated that Globalive Wireless is not in compliance with the Canadian ownership and control requirements set out in the Telecommunications Act.

“Having already received approval from Industry Canada, we are extremely disappointed that the CRTC has come to a different conclusion,” said Anthony Lacavera, Chairman, Globalive Wireless Management Corp. “This is a bad day for Canadian consumers. Canadians deserve competition in wireless and this decision represents a major step backwards.”

“WIND Mobile had planned to launch in the coming weeks. We have pulled together an excellent team of more than 500 people and had built a strong network and operation across the country. We are ready to bring competition to the market.” said Ken Campbell, CEO of WIND Mobile. “We will be evaluating our options on how to proceed.”

Read the complete press release on WIND Mobile’s website.  After doing so, be sure to follow us on Twitter so you do not miss another news update.

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With the CRTC’s decision today to block WIND Mobile (Globalive Wireless) from launching in Canada at this time, HowardForums member “Windsider” decided it would be safe to leak some plan information.

Three plans were to be available at launch, sorry no monthly pricing was given:

Chat (basic plan)
100 province-wide minutes

Always Talk (mid range plan)
province-wide “local” minutes

Always Shout (high end plan)
province-wide “local” minutes
unlimited texting to Canada and the US
voicemail

All plans were to include: missed call alert, caller id, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calling, Wind-to-Wind Calling (Nationwide).

In addition to the three base calling plans, WIND mobile also planned to launch data and prepaid services.  The data plan was to be called “Infinite Internet” featuring unlimited data (tethering, downloading, streaming, etc.).  Prepaid service was to be referred to as “Pay Before” which gave the consumer access to the same monthly plans as the “Pay After” (postpaid) service.

Thanks “Windsider”.

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In this decision, the Commission sets out its determination in the proceeding initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation 2009-429, in which it undertook a review of Globalive’s ownership and control. In its review, the Commission considered whether non-Canadians do not own or control Globalive as currently structured. The Commission determines that Globalive does not meet that test. The Commission therefore determines that Globalive has not met the requirements of the ownership and control regime and is therefore not currently eligible to operate as a Canadian telecommunications common carrier.

We will have more on the CRTC’s decision in a future post.  In the mean time, head over the the WIND Mobile section of HowardForums to discuss the ruling by the CRTC.

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BlackBerry Pearl 8100 (Red)
3 year: $0 (requires data)
prepaid: $400
November 2009

Nokia 2720
2 year: $0
prepaid: $80
November 2009

Sony Ericsson T715a
2 year: $50
prepaid: $200
November 2009

LG Xenon
2 year: $125
$225: prepaid
December 2009

Discuss Fido’s Q4 plans on HowardForums.

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